The Akron Aeros matched up against the Richmond Flying Squirrels and lost 2-1. The starting pitcher Paolo Espino suffered a tough first inning but recovered fast, only allowing one run out of three different base runners, next allowing a run in the top of the seventh. The story for Richmond was the starting pitcher Edwin Escobar, who dominated his way through 7.1 scoreless innings. Francisco Lindor, the Indians’ number one prospect, went hitless.

I showed up to Canal Park at about noon and went through a quick tour of the press box and the rooms where all of the magic of the stadium happens. I got to see how the scoreboard is operated, where the game is announced from over both the stadium and through the radio. I then went downstairs with my father and an Aeros intern to travel through the dugout area, and I passed by the visiting and home team clubhouses, where I would soon visit after the game to interview the manager Edwin Rodriguez and the players of the game. We traveled through the tunnel and found ourselves in the dugout, where we watched Richmond take batting practice and chatted amongst ourselves and with pitching coach Greg Hibbard about Ryan Braun and the banned substances, the starting Indians that came through Akron and the farm system, and even the average age of the Aeros lineup. We traveled back up to the press box and watched the game start.

Throughout the game, we both enjoyed the game and laughed as the events of Family FUNday commenced, such as playing catch on the field before the game, running onto the field between innings and running the bases after the game was over. Since today was also West Akron Baseball League’s T-Ball Day, the players and coaches walked around the field before the game and a few players received the privilege of saying the traditional “play ball!”

I took a few notes throughout the game and noticed the key to Richmond’s Escobar’s success was his first pitch strike success. Through 7.1 innings pitched, he had 16 first pitch strikes out of 25 opportunities and only allowed three hits and one walk. I had the chance to speak with Akron’s manager Rodriguez and Espino about the game today, and when asked about the most important factor in the outcome of the game, Rodriguez spoke about how Richmond’s pitching dominated the entire game, only allowing a total of three hits the entire game. It was a very fun experience that I will never forget.

Editor’s note: The West Side Leader and the Akron Aeros are presenting an opportunity for young, aspiring journalists to see what it’s like to cover a professional baseball team for a day. For every Sunday game through Aug. 25, selected students in fourth through 11th grades will have an opportunity to take part in the West Side Leader’s Journalism Days at Canal Park. To apply for the West Side Leader’s Journalism Days, candidates need to write in 50 words or less why they want to be a reporter for a day and email it to reporter@akronaeros.com, along with their names, addresses and phone numbers. For more information, call 800-97-AEROS or visit www.akronaeros.com, or see “West Side Leader, Akron Aeros introducing Journalism Day for students” in the archives at www.akron.com.